Ubisoft locking DLC behind season passes isn’t anything new, but it still sucks

Since the reveal of the official story trailer for Star Wars Outlaws, fans have had nothing but questions about certain aspects of the game that don’t quite sit right with them in 2024.

First, there was a bit of a debacle about the fact that the game’s physical edition requires an online connection to be fully installed. However, after a little time and research, it appears that this is more to avoid leaks and spoilers from copies being sent out too early than anything else. Still, it’s not exactly normal and errs a little too close to a long-abandoned system some publishers used to employ that saw games come with a one-time pass for story content that you’d need to pay for if you purchased a second-hand copy.

All the info we have on Jabba’s Gambit points to it being small potatoes

The second stumbling block Star Wars Outlaws has hit still doesn’t have a satisfying answer for some fans, though. It’s a piece of DLC that only those who purchase the $110 Gold Edition can gain access to a mission called Jabba’s Gambit.

When news that this mission would be exclusive to those who purchased the season pass for Star Wars Outlaws or a premium edition that includes it, there was a lot of confusion about how players would enjoy the full Jabba the Hutt storyline without it. Developer Ubisoft has since reached out, responding directly to PCGamer, clarifying that this mission is not the only one to feature the intergalactic godfather, nor is it essential to the story.

To clarify, the Hutt Clan is but one of the major “gangs” you’ll interact with and complete missions for in Star Wars Outlaws. You’ll see plenty of the slovenly slug in your travels, so this mission is more like icing on an already slimy cake.

The thing is, if, like me, you’ve been buying various editions of games from Ubisoft for several years now, this isn’t anything new. In fact, I’d go as far as saying Ubisoft should be as well known for not only offering a staggering number of editions but also for locking missions behind those editions and season passes as it is for radio towers in open world games.

As far back as Assassin’s Creed 2, Ubisoft has been locking missions behind its special editions. The Black Edition of the game came with three exclusive in-game quests, and every game in the series from this point followed suit. All of them had some sort of mission or quest that could only be played by those who had purchased a certain edition of each game.

Between Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Revelations, and Assassin’s Creed 3, Ubisoft offered even more exclusive editions. Utilizing the Ubiworkshop Store, Ubisoft created some unique editions for its games during this period, when Assassin’s Creed was at its height. Brotherhood has an incredible-looking resin box that opens like an ancient tomb, Revelations a premium collection of goodies in a lithograph case, and 3 has a Cold War-style folder for everything it packs in. Some of the items you got with them, including collectible cards that could have been part of a card game, and art cards featuring characters who have never been before or since.

Assassin’s Creed wasn’t the only series Ubisoft did this with, either. Watch Dogs and Far Cry games all got exclusive missions that were locked behind various editions, though they soon transferred over to coincide with the editions that included season passes as they became a more acceptable form of monetization with game releases.

In the Assassin’s Creed series, a wolfskin cosmetic was the best thing I ever got from one of these exclusive quests. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood locked an entire side story and multiple quests behind its premium editions. The content of the actual quests has long left my memory, while that new outfit for Ezio really does look fantastic. Of course, the outfit has no bearing on Ezio’s skills, so it’s completely unnecessary and extremely frivolous.

For Watch Dogs, in particular, a trio of game modes were locked behind its season pass and pricier editions, only to be released as paid optional content further down the line. I fondly remember shooting cyborg zombies in the Conspiracy DLC one day with my collector’s edition, which helped soften the blow of the game not quite living up to its E3 trailer.

Of course, all of these exclusive missions and quests are now available to anyone who purchases the remastered versions of these games. Those that aren’t are still there in season passes waiting to be unlocked, but I believe most have been brought over at this point.

When I saw Ubisoft promoting the various editions of Star Wars Outlaws and Jabba’s Gambit, I was not phased. This is how Ubisoft has done business for more than a decade now. It’s nothing more than a marketing scheme to make a version of this product look more appealing to fans who love collecting Ubisoft titles.

For now, the best thing to do is pre-order the edition of Star Wars Outlaws that you want and can afford, or wait and see, as usual. The season pass isn’t going anywhere and will likely drop in price in the future, so you can pick it and this exclusive mission up then if you, understandably, don’t want to pay double the price of every other game launching this year just so you secure that one mission for your first playthrough.